Caffe Cagliostro

Sotiria

Caffe Cagliostro is situated at the centre of the 'Little Italy' area, on the north side of the Millenium Bridge. The first point of attraction for me was that it's not part of any of the coffee chains, which have, slowly but surely, been taking over Dublin, offerring most of the times bad coffee. The coffee at Cagliostro is good and the selection of 7-8 panini, typically offered with a small bowl of soup, are really tasty in an Italian, simple and fine way with italian cooked meats and cheese and veggies. It is not anything fancy but it stands in sharp contrast to a number of Lonely Planet guide recommended 'Italian' restaurants that I have tried (and which I never bothered to visit twice). The deserts are also good (especially the banoffee cake). The other thing that I personally like at Cagliostro is the atmosphere: the staff is young and friendly and the music is Italian and Spanish, sometimes older, almost always cheesy-sounding hits, which the people behind the counter sing along, at times with a very endearing (southern) excitement. Cagliostro also has some outside space for those very rare times when the sun is shining and it's not too cold in Dublin. All in all, this is a very warm and cosy place to seek refuge from the Dublin weather antics. I only wish it were also open on Sundays as well.